PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The industrial sector requires increasing amounts of composite materials for use as structural parts that provide a high level of rigidity while still being lightweight. The global composites market is expected to grow from € 67 billion in 2020 to more than € 100 billion by 2025, according to MarketAndMarket survey (2021). The use of composite materials has particularly intensified in sectors where the need for high performance material is fundamental: e.g., racing cars, aeronautics, space vectors and boats. Their high-level performance contributed to an increase in sectoral stakeholders’ awareness of the technical and economic advantages provided by this type of material. As a result, composites are currently used in any application where low weight, high mechanical performance and near-net-shape production are required.
However, in conventional manufacturing systems for composite materials, relevant amounts of waste are generated, in particular when cutting the shapes. This, together with the low flexibility of the moulds, results in the discarding of a large quantity of raw materials.
OBJECTIVES
The ZeroWasteLIFE project will design and set-up a manufacturing system to produce composite materials to be used in various industrial sectors. The proposed technical solutions will reduce the cost and the waste of raw materials, and will generate a cleaner, more efficient industrial process for lightweight, high-performing products. The project will demonstrate that it is possible to improve the sustainability of various manufacturing sectors that imply the use of a large volume of components (e.g., the automotive sector) or a low volume of high-performance components (aerospace sector).
The ZeroWasteLIFE system is based on the High-Volume Tailored Fibre Placement (HV-TFP) technology that entails three production steps: 1) stitching of multiple filaments on flat pattern from 3D-2D flattening; 2) 2D-3D reconstruction of the final solid product through moulding; and 3) consolidation through hot pressing. The optimised structure of the materials is expected to provide significant technical and environmental benefits, such as maximum strength-to-weight ratio for the manufactured products, and close to zero waste generated within the whole value chain process.
The ZeroWasteLIFE project relies on the strategic collaboration between technology developers and composite manufacturers through the role of designers and modelling experts.
The project’s specific objectives are to:
Set-up a system for manufacturing high performing structural composites through the High-Volume Tailored Fibre Placement (HV-TFP) technology.
Design 10 selected components (e.g., beams, plates and shells) made of composite materials with lightweight features (at least 15% reduction in weight).
RESULTS
The expected results of the ZeroWasteLIFE project are:
- Construction of 10 composite shapes, including one complex-shape aerospace part, and one automotive part composed of beams, shells and plates adequately joined.
- Lower use of primary materials and reduction of waste (from around 40% to nearly zero).
- Emission reduction of 300 tonnes of CO2 eq. by the project’s end, thanks to the replacement of the traditional composite manufacturing system (entailing thermosetting and thermoplastics) with the ZeroWasteLIFE approach.
- Reduced energy footprint of the relevant manufacturing process by approximately 110 MWh due to avoided waste, and by additional 75 MWh through the replacement of the autoclave with a thermal pressing process.
- Reduction of costs per manufactured unit by at least 15% thanks to reduced waste, reduced energy consumption and improved performance.
- Generation of a 20% turnover increase of around € 2-2.5 million for the two manufacturing beneficiaries involved in the project.
